Bethesda Health Profiled by HFMA: “Put the Patient First, and All Good Things Will Follow”

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Bethesda Health has been recognized for its remarkable “Commitment to Care” (C2C) transformation initiative in the fall issue of Sunspots magazine by The Florida Chapter of the Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA). The article, written by Bethesda Health CFO Joanne Aquilina, explains why today’s hospital financial leaders must focus more on operations, patient care and quality control to guide financial success.

“Bethesda Health knew that it had to create an infrastructure for efficient, reliable, predictable care delivery, to sustain exceptional operational performance,” said Aquilina. “That, in turn, would be the key to increasing volumes and revenue while controlling costs—and moving margins back into the black.”

Aquilina goes on to describe the “production model” for care and patient-first, zero defect culture Bethesda adopted, collaborating with Atlanta-based Care Logistics. With this new model, the two Bethesda Health hospitals are achieving dramatic improvements in length-of-stay, CMI and reimbursements, care quality, patient satisfaction, and financial performance.

Among the results Bethesda has achieved with Care Logistics are:

Place patients efficiently and appropriately from the ED to appropriate units

Strengthen collaboration and relationships with the medical community by creating a high reliability organization

Cut preventable harm and associated infection rates

Reduced acute length of stay more than half a day while improving care quality measures and patient satisfaction

Increase care mix index from 1.30 to 1.41 while reducing cost per case

About Care Logistics: Care Logistics partners with hospitals to establish a patient-first, zero-defect “production system” for care. This Hospital Operating System transforms hospital operations, powered by culture change, a hub-and-spoke care coordination model, and logistics software. The results: The best possible patient care and experience your hospital can deliver, with the greatest efficiency at the lowest costs.

For more information, contact Care Logistics at (800) 930-0870, or learn more about the dramatic results Care Logistics customers are achieving at http://www.carelogistics.com.

About Bethesda Health: Founded in 1959, Bethesda Health, Inc., is a healthcare organization serving the medical needs of South Palm Beach County with a mission to provide quality health services in a caring manner. With two not-for profit hospital, 401- bed Bethesda Hospital East and 80-bed Bethesda Hospital; West, Bethesda Health is comprised of more than 67- physicians and 2,700 employees. Bethesda Health and its affiliates offer a full array of healthcare services, including Bethesda Heart Hospital for cardiovascular services, general, vascular and endovascular surgery maternity, neonatal and pediatric intensive care, women’s health and the Bethesda Comprehensive Cancer Center. Bethesda Hospital West, which opened in January 2013, is an all-private room, state-of-the-art hospital, with a 24-hour Emergency Department for adults and children to serve our western communities. Bethesda Hospital West provides general medical, surgical and intensive care services, imaging and rehabilitation. Learn more at: http://www.BethesdaWeb.com